1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup device, such as a digital still camera (DSC) or a digital video camera (DVC), and, more particularly, to an image pickup device provided with a display unit including a display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic electroluminescence display (OELD).
2. Description of the Related Art
Some image pickup devices, such as DSCs and DVCs are provided with a display unit. The display unit serves as a viewfinder in photographing an object and as a monitor for confirming or appreciating a photographed image of the object after photographing.
A known image pickup device shown in FIG. 14 has a camera body 101 and a foldable display unit 102, such as a LCD, attached to a sidewall of the camera body 101. FIG. 15 shows a known image pickup device disclosed in, for example, JP-A 62-36985 (Patent document 1). The image pickup device shown in FIG. 15 has a camera body 101 and a display unit 102 mounted on a turntable 103 supported for turning on the top wall of the camera body 101 by a shaft 104. The display unit 102 is pivotally supported by pins 105 and 106 on brackets standing respectively from peripheral parts of the turntable 103. The display unit 102 is turned on the pins 105 and 106 to set the display unit 102 in an upright position of a horizontal position. The display unit 102 is set in an upright position and the turntable 103 is turned to change the direction of the screen of the display unit 102.
The known image pickup device having the camera body 101, the turntable 103 supported on the top wall of the cameral body 101 and the display unit 102 mounted on the turntable 103 has the following problems.
(1) The display unit 102 and the turntable 103 protruding from the top wall of the camera body 101 obstruct handling the image pickup device and spoil the aesthetic appearance of the image pickup device.
(2) When the display unit 102 is set in a upright position and the turntable 103 is turned, the display unit 102 is dislocated greatly from the shaft 104 supporting the turntable 103 and disposed with its axis perpendicularly intersecting the optical axis of the image pickup device as shown in FIG. 16.